ProElite, Inc. (fka PELE)

[jacktrades]

Feller said ProElite has initial plans to promote six to eight shows in 2012, and though he emphasized that the company wants to take its development slowly, he also mentioned the possibility of pay-per-view events as early as next year.

To get to that stage, ProElite will need the exposure that only a television deal can bring. Feller said ProElite is currently in vigorous negotiations with three networks on both the broadcast and cable network platforms, but wouldn't identify them. A source with knowledge of one potential deal said ProElite is in talks with Mark Cuban's HDNet, which is eying the Nov. 5 event for broadcast.


In terms of making a TV deal happen, ProElite's negotiations sound more fiscally promising this time around.

"The first year on Showtime we had to essentially pay for production," said executive vice president Eric Ficksman, another employee who has stayed with the company throughout its five-year duration.

Feller said it was a good assumption that ProElite won't have to bear these costs in its new deal, even though other promotions are willing to pay for the opportunity.